Monday, April 19, 2010

Varaidzo Dongozi in Reuters AlertNet: Sylvia Chipakwe has been a successful subsistence farmer most of her life, surviving through tough times and bad weather with a flexible approach to production. …But like many women in Zimbabwe, Chipakwe does not own the land she farms. And as a result, she does have access to farm-owner meetings and other opportunities to participate in drafting policies to help Zimbabwe deal with climate change.

"The tragedy is that as we face more and agro-focused challenges, women's roles will be more pivotal, yet they continue to be sidelined," said Betty Nhachi, a founding member of Women in Sustainable Development, a newly formed organisation which seeks to educate women and promote their participation in sustainable development.

For centuries, women have been Africa's farmers and custodians of farming knowledge, their experience passed on from generation to generation. So as the continent tries to adapt to climate change, women's voices belong at the forefront of working out techniques to adopt farming to changing conditions, experts say.

But in too many places - including Zimbabwe - women still lack access to the decision-making bodies that would allow them to pass on their expertise and help shape farming policy that works. The consequences are enormous: Many communities rely almost completely on women's farming expertise for their sustenance, and a lack of proper policy could worsen hunger and leave millions more vulnerable to climate change threats and worsening environmental degradation….

June 2009 – At the studios of Cleanskies TV, I was interviewed about the costs of climate change, and discussed adaptation efforts underway in the US and around the world.

May 2009 – I helped draft the scenarios for Rising Waters, a multistakeholder scenarios effort focused on climate change adaptation in the Hudson Valley. The final report is now completed and available here.

May 2008 – I reviewed two books on climate and energy in the New Leader magazine: James Gustave Speth's The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability, plus Robert Bryce's Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence.

January 2008 – A very local paper covers a very global issue.... The Litchfield County Times in northwestern Connectictut ran an article in January 2008 about Carbon-Based.

Now available: Climate Change Adaptation in 2011

A selection of my writings from 2011, plus some of my posts, as well as links... all focusing on the risks of climate change